November 29, 2006

Alessi Brothers in concert in Paris: April 20, 2007 at the Bus Palladium.

Breaking piece of news: Alessi Brothers & Band (Billy Alessi and Bobby Alessi) will do a concert April 20, 2007 at The Bus Palladium in Paris, France - produced by Richard Benhaim at WWL Productions. More details soon about this great event in Paris, France!

In addition, Alessi Bros will be performing at Spirit of 66 in Verviers, Belgium on Wed. April 4th.

Randy Crawford and Joe Sample have Collaborated Once Again to Create an Amazing New Record Feeling Good, which is Certain to Impact the World as Did their First Collaboration Together, the International Hit "Street Life." Produced by Joe Sample and the Legendary Tommy Lipuma 'feeling Good' is the Ultimate Album of Covers with a Mix of Old Standards and Contemporary Songs, Including "All Night Long," "Everybody's Talking" and the Title Track "Feeling Good".

Tracklist:
1. Feeling Good
2. End Of The Line
3. But Beautiful
4. Rio De Janeiro Blue
5. Lovetown
6. See Line Woman
7. I Want Some More
8. Everybody's Talkin
9. When I Need You
10. Save Your Love For Me
11. Danceland
12. All Night Long
13. Late Late Show
14. Mr. Ugly

November 15, 2006

Vocalist JINADU and producer KIRK DEGIORGIO first collaborated on the AS ONE album "21st Century Soul" (Ubiquity) in 2001.

Both have worked mainly in the electronic dance genre - recording for a wide range of labels from Mo' Wax to Bitches Brew.

The Beauty Room came about through continued collaboration, with Degiorgio sending Jinadu sketches of songs with increasingly unusual progressions. Jinadu worked his magic enhancing them with catchy melodies, hooks galore and layers of rich harmonies.

The Beauty Room marks a notable stylistic shift for both Jinadu and Degiorgio. A debut single - a deft adaptation of Jan Hammer's 1977 song 'Don't You Know' - was recently released on Parlophone's Vanity Projects offshoot and whilst it may have been a typically teasing Degiorgio hors d'oeuvre, its in the shape of a self-titled album that The Beauty Room present their full, lavish feast.

Opener "Soul Horizon" sets the tone; its lulling acoustic guitar intro presaging a phalanx of harmonies which usher in a melodic reverie of a song that could be a gently billowing outtake from the first Crosby Stills & Nash album. It's a languorous intoxication that continues as the album gathers its own mellow pace.

"Holding On" is a deft, soulful Fender Rhodes ballad with a chorus that sticks like superglue; "The Weight of the World" nods to The Beach Boys at their most transcendent, while "Shades of Yesterday", with Degiorgio adroitly taking care of vocal duties, is an intimate, hypnotic confessional, with a redemptive, orchestral refrain.

There's an undeniable sense of timeless urban sophistication at play here. Indeed, this album most readily brings to mind those high priests of the cerebral groove, Steely Dan. What The Beauty Room achieve here is a similar blend of sharp-creased strut and spiritual meditation, all of it laced with plenty of that most essential yet undefinable alchemical element, soul.

Fans of singer/songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and the whole late sixties/early seventies West Coast scene, should also be hastily marshalled toward this beguiling distillation of downtempo eloquence, for while the overall mood is smooth and mellifluous, this is by no means lightweight music - far from it.

There are lyrical stones into the millpond tranquillity of a track like the string-propelled Burn My Bridges ("I retreat to your agenda / my resistance now confounded.") or the beguiling Visions of Joy ("Sometimes you'll try to tear off your disguise, revealing something new / The image you once loved, the lies you thought you knew."), proving that while this is undoubtedly music to chill to, its certainly not aimed at those with either heart or brain in the deep freeze.

Warm, human and - as you'll have guessed from Degiorgio and Jinadu's chosen band moniker - spaciously beautiful. The Beauty Room will take you on a journey past wonderfully familiar landmarks to a place you've never quite seen before.

Nearly a decade and a half after he first came to America from Australia, Keith Urban has arrived in a major way as a global musical force. This accomplished singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has slowly but surely established himself as one of the most consistent and exciting talents not simply in country music, but in our music world as a whole.

Anyone who imagined that the massive success of "Be Here" and the flurry of honors that followed it would lead Urban to rest on his laurels is in for a big, bold and rather beautiful surprise. Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing, a multi-textured work, which Urban co-produced with longtime collaborator Dann Huff, is already being lauded as the most ambitious, accomplished and intimate album in Urban’s already impressive career.

Of "Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing", Urban says, “It’s just an accurate reflection of where I am now. I think it’s the sound of being happy with my life and passionate about the music that I’m making.” As for the album’s intriguing title, Urban explains, “It’s inspired by a great old movie called Love, Pain and the Whole Damned Thing. We just swapped the “Damned” for “Crazy,’ and it gave the right sense of how the album feels and what it’s all about. It’s about Love, Pain and the whole crazy thing. It’s about life. When the title came to me, it was obvious – it seemed to fit.”

Recorded and written with key collaborators from previous recordings including producer Dann Huff and engineer Justin Niebank, Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing seems set to generate another string of hit songs. Yet each and every one of them feels exceptionally fresh.

Contante & Sonante presents an exquisite collection of renditions of the most beautiful Contemporary and Classic Christmas songs ever written. Featuring songs by renowned songwriters like multi-Grammy award winners David Foster and Diane Warren, this album includes covers of Christmas beauties like Diane Warren's "These Are The Special Times", Robbie Buchanan's "Born On Christmas Day", David Foster's "Grown-Up Christmas List", "This Time Next Year" or his never-before released on CD "The Joy Of Christmas Past".

With impeccable production work by the talented Swiss keyboardist Urs Wiesendanger, this album will bring you and your family the magic and joy of the Christmas season. Featured lead vocalists Thierry Condor and Miriam Dee, two of the best voices and skilled session singers available today, along with an array of first-class studio musicians definitely make this album a must-have for all Westcoast music lovers. Don’t miss it!

Don't miss The Country Music rendez-vous "Music Box Country show" on saturday 18 at 8.30 pm and sunday 19 at 3 pm, Théatre de Poissy (78), France.

RACHAEL WARWICK, the new star of the Country Music scene is coming for 2 great shows with the band New Jack Union. Other bands will join her, RAG MAMA RAG from UK, SHANNAH with the band Blue Diamond from Nederland, Frank Danyel, Steve and Heather & The Westerners.

Track Listing: The Enemy Within . Sign Up For Love . Home Away From Home . In The Shadows . How Do We Stay In Love . My Time . Lucky Town . Alive . Uninvited Guest . Change The World . Flying High . Sworn To Silence.

November 10, 2006

June 2006 saw the release of the latest Little River Band recording, Re-arranged. Fans that attend the live shows know how LRB love to play around with the arrangements on many of the songs that form the basis of their live set…from subtle changes to some passages, through extended endings and blistering solos, to complete changes such as the now blues-based The Other Guy.

That drive to remain fresh and immediate is at the heart of this latest Little River Band recording, Re-arranged. It reflects the changes to the live arrangements of the songs that have occurred over the years, and have evolved even further with the addition of Billy Thomas and Chris Marion in 2005 and right up to date with Rich Herring in 2006.

The result is a studio CD, but with much more of a “live feel” to it – more raw guitar and vocal sounds with less studio gimmickry to emulate the energy and vibe of the live show. LRB News caught up with Wayne Nelson and Stephen Housden to find out some more about the CD.

Wayne told us “these performances capture a strong vocal blend, with some interesting moments where one of the new voices pops out! Instead of trying to homogenize those moments, they were left alone so the character of the new guys could be heard.”

Stephen thought it was great to hear the live vocal sound in this way. He said "I hear the band every night while I’m playing but it's not the same as sitting in the audience. After sitting back and hearing the final mixes I was first knocked out by how good the harmony blend is on this CD. The band sounds as good as I expected but the vocals are just magic. Hats off to the lads for that."

Wayne added “It’s also the same great guitar work, but with the addition of a couple of solos played by Greg and Rich (see if you can pick which ones – Ed.) It was great fun cutting these tracks with such a solid rhythm section; the session went for 15 hours straight through, but we cut all the tracks in one night.”

The track listing reflects the content of recent live shows, and includes LRB classics as well as some more recent tracks.

To the ears of this listener, the outstanding feature of this recording is the strength, depth and quality of the vocals and harmonies (“as good as ever” according to Stephen Housden) backed up by the same flawless playing and attention to detail that mark every LRB performance. Exceptional drumming (and a great drum sound) underpins every song, and the keyboards - especially some wonderfully crisp electric piano - are given more prominence than on any outing since the Hirschfelder days, lending real depth to the arrangements.

These are classic songs, brilliantly performed, and captured with a real sense of the live feel that was the inspiration for the album. It should find a place in the collection of every LRB fan.

Steve Ferrone has been around a long time, he has played in numerous bands and on thousands of records over the years. He is mostly known for his work with Average White Band, Eric Clapton, Chaka Kahn, Jeff Golub, Duran Duran, and for the last ten years Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Steve released a live solo album entitled "It Up": Steve Ferrone and Friends Live at La Ve Lee in 2003.
He's now back with "More head", featuring The DeLeo brothers, Brian Auger, Alex Ligertwood and many other studio legends.

"In summer of 2004 from Joe Walsh called to invite me on a tour with him and his band. Playing with Joe is always guaranteed fun so I accepted the invitation. Robert and Dean DeLeo, (founding members of Stone Temple Pilots) were part of the band for that trip, and a friendship soon developed between us. Dean and Robert often talked of how they used to listen to Average White Band back in their early days of playing, and how much they liked that kind of music. I have been working on a studio album for some time now, a track I named Ya Ali Madad (Urdu for Please God Help Me) was ready for some bass and guitar. So I invited Robert and Dean over to Drumroll Studios to put down the track."

November 08, 2006

Frontiers Records is excited to launch the release of the forthcoming KELLY KEAGY new solo album entitled “I’m Alive” on January 26th 2007.

KELLY KEAGY is better known as drummer / singer with the US Melodic Rock heroes NIGHT RANGER. NIGHT RANGER’s first album “Dawn Patrol” (1982), reached number 38 on the U.S. charts, yet it was 1983’s “Midnight Madness” that established the band as a commercial force. Featuring the hits “(You Can Still) Rock in America” and “Sister Christian”, the record peaked at number 15 and sold over 1 million copies. 1985’s “7 Wishes” was even more successful, reaching number 10 on the charts. The band reformed in the mid-90s and have since released 4 more albums.

In 2001, Kelly took a turn down the solo album trail. “Time Passes” saw Kelly handling drums and vocals and collaborating with such artists as Jim Peterik, Kevin Chalfant, Brian Bart with obvious features from his band mates Brad Gillis, Jack Blades and Jeff Watson.

To date, Kelly and NIGHT RANGER are busy working on a new studio album. But in the meanwhile he found the time and the inspiration to finish his second solo work entitled “I'm Alive”. The new record was written and produced by Keagy in cooperation with Jim Peterik (PRIDE OF LIONS, ex SURVIVOR) and also features contributions from Kelly’s THE MOB band mate Reb Beach (WINGER, WHITESNAKE), Mike Aquino (PRIDE OF LIONS, MECCA), Brian Bart, Bruce Gaitsch, Tommy Denander on guitar and Michael Lardie (GREAT WHITE, NIGHT RANGER) on keyboards among others.

The new album sees Keagy exploring a slightly rougher edge compared to his debut album with a more live feel in the mix. “I look forward to playing these songs live, as they were written to be played live”, says Kelly and the joyful ride that this record offers, proves just that!

Tracklist: I’m Alive; Stolen; Blink of an Eye; When Nobody’s Looking; Back of Your Mind; Life Worth Remembering; Re-Imagine; World Before and After; Where Are We Now; Where the Road Ends; Everything I Need in a Woman; Call In Another Day; Half a World Away.

Release is scheduled on Frontiers Records in Europe on January 26th 2007 and in Japan on King Records.